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Wijnaldum and Van Dijk star: Liverpool player ratings from 2-1 win over Tottenham

Liverpool made it five wins out of five but not without surviving a bit of a scare quite late in the game. The Reds were leading 2-0 comfortably, thanks to goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino.

But we let Tottenham back in the game as Erik Lamela scored in stoppage time. We should have led by four or five goals at least but, as usual, we let the opposition come back.

Jurgen Klopp looked upset when Spurs scored but most of our players were great at Wembley. Liverpool deserved the three points and here are the player ratings from London.

Alisson (7/10)

The Brazilian made a couple of good saves but he wasn’t troubled enough by Spurs. He could have done better with the Lamela goal.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5/10)

Trent had a quality outing against Spurs. The youngster was barely threatened and sent in a couple of decent crosses into the box.

Joe Gomez (8/10)

The Englishman had a couple of nervy moments at the back but this was another quality performance from Gomez, as he kept Harry Kane in check.

Virgil van Dijk (8.5/10)

The boss in the defence, van Dijk rarely made any mistakes throughout the game. Suffice to say, he is one of the best in the Premier League.

Andy Robertson (8/10)

Robertson hit the bar with a cross in the second half but the Scot was great at the back and made a few quality runs to help the attack.

James Milner (8.5/10)

Milner was solid in the midfield, barely letting Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier do anything. The Englishman ran more than any other Liverpool player on the pitch.

Georginio Wijnaldum (8/10)

Wijnaldum scored his first Premier League away goal from a corner and he was, once again, brilliant in his No. 6 role.

Naby Keita (7.5/10)

Keita was a surprise in the midfield as Jordan Henderson could have also started. Nevertheless, the Guinean should have gotten a goal to his name as he had a couple of great chances.

Mohamed Salah (7/10)

Salah really struggled in front of the goal as he squandered numerous opportunities to score. The Egyptian just needs something to go in but he was a threat against Spurs throughout the 90 minutes.

Roberto Firmino (8.5/10)

The Brazilian was a thorn for Spurs and got a goal in the second half. His effort was notched off in the first minute as Sadio Mane was offside but hopefully, his eye injury will not be a major one ahead of our Champions League games.

Sadio Mane (8/10)

Mane was at the heart of all good things in our attack and should have scored a goal. The Senegal international was smart in his runs and even had a quality effort saved by Michel Vorm.

Substitutes

Jordan Henderson (7/10)

The captain came on in the second half and did his usual bit by passing the ball around and maintaining the tempo.

Daniel Sturridge (N/A)

The Englishman had a couple of bright moments but couldn’t make a telling contribution.

Bad news for Liverpool? Gary Neville claims Man City will have this advantage over the Reds during next two Premier League match days

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville claims that Manchester City have an advantage over Liverpool in the next two rounds of the Premier League.

The Reds played before City in the last weekend and piled on the pressure after defeating Crystal Palace. City made light work of Huddersfield and will play before the Reds after the FA Cup and Carabao Cup games.

Neville was speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Express) and claimed playing first was preferable:

“[It makes] a big difference.

“It’s preferable.”

The Sky Sports pundit further claimed that during his playing days at United, the team felt playing first was an advantage. Getting the points first before their rivals was always preferred, according to Neville, and he believed City will put the pressure on Liverpool.

“Either go further in front or close the gap. There’s no doubt it’s a different type of pressure.

“City will absolutely want to be closing that gap to one point, and asking Liverpool have they got it in them to stand the pressure of playing the day after or two days after.”

Liverpool players celebrate a win

City play Newcastle away a day before we host Leicester City. Pep Guardiola’s men then host Arsenal a day prior to us travelling to West Ham United.

The Premier League champions can cut the lead to just one point before we face Leicester, and it will be important for us to respond in the perfect manner, irrespective of City’s result.

Looking good out there. Seems like the club have been doing a fantastic job with getting him back to fitness at the right pace (which is somehow still faster than expected). Probably help that Ox has such a great attitude and determination to get back on the pitch.

Van Dijk is one of the best defenders in the world and has helped the Reds to the top of the Premier League.

The Dutchman joined the Reds from Southampton last year and told Liverpoolfc.com about spoke about the King being open with Van Dijk:

“Kenny Dalglish gave me his mobile number in the very beginning and told me to ring him at any time.

“It is unbelievable when he sometimes sends me messages before games. That is what Liverpool is about.”

The defender added that on match-days he gets to meet many legends and learn more about the club’s history.

The Dutch defender has possibly been the best player for the Reds this season, and could reach legendary status, just like Kenny if he keeps doing the job at the back.

It isn’t just Van Dijk who has been great, the rest of the Liverpool back-four has been fantastic in most games. The Dutchman is an incredible presence at the back, and he seems to make players better if they play alongside him.

The Reds have one of the best defences in Europe, and should we keep things tight at the back, there is a chance of winning silverware under Jurgen Klopp.